Obituary of Jayden Nicholas Kibbee

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved son, Jayden. Jayden Nicholas Kibbee was born on January 7th, 2002. He passed on December 23rd, 2020. He is preceded in death by his grandparents Connie and Doug Hartung. He is survived by his parents Renee and Jeremey Kibbee, his brother Austin Kibbee, paternal grandparents Debra Griffin and Les Kibbee, uncles Dylan Hartung and Dustin Kibbee, and many more extended family members, who he loved to see and spend time with. Jayden grew up in the Centennial School District. He attended Butler Creek Elementary kindergarten through sixth grade. He then went to Centennial Middle School for seventh and eighth grade, and finished at Centennial High School where he graduated in 2020. Growing up Jayden played many sports. He started playing T-Ball when he could just barely pick up a bat. He continued to play until right before he went into high school. Jayden started practicing Tae Kwon Do when he was just a “Tiny Tiger” and continued on with that until he became a second degree black belt. He also played soccer for many years, both recreationally and on a club team. As he got in to middle school he discovered his passion for running and doing track. He would do this for the rest of his high school career. He found pole vault his junior year and was making great progress and becoming great at it until COVID hit. Jayden had just finished his first term at OSU. He had dreams of doing something in STEM. His passion was math, from even before kindergarten. He wrote in a college scholarship essay “I want to make sure that I love my work, that way it does not feel like a burden to have a career. I want to be well off in my career, so that I can provide support to my family and friends when they need me”. There are so many ways to describe Jay. He was kind, compassionate, loving, witty, practical, selfless, smart, handsome, giving, and so much more. We could write novels just giving examples on how these qualities identify Jayden, from his willingness to help his family any time they asked, to being there for his friends when they needed a hand with academics or just a shoulder to lean on, Jayden was always there. Jayden had a love of animals. He couldn’t pass by a dog on the street without asking the owners if he could pet it, and sometimes snapping a quick picture so that he could share it with his family. He loved his Boxer, Maggie, Rocky, and other family pets over the years. Jayden was close with his family. We always ate dinner together as a family, watched TV together, spent time together during sporting events, and went camping together. We went camping at the dunes for fifteen summers in a row. This is where Jay learned to ride his quad, jump his quad, ride wheelies and generally frighten his parents every chance he got. Camping and riding was something that Jayden looked forward to every year. It was a chance to break out of school, athletics and anything else going on in life. During the week that we were at the dunes there was nothing but family, fun, games and great food; all things Jayden loved. He made many friends during his life. He was described by his friends as loyal, a leader, smart, and funny. His friends tell us that he was the one giving others advice, and telling them “good job, or you will do it next time”. He was always willing to help someone when they were struggling with their homework, this even included sitting in his car after track practice. Memorial Services will be held at Sunnyside Little Chapel of the Chimes and Memorial Gardens, on January 7th, 2021 (which would have been Jayden’s 19th birthday) at 1pm. Due to COVID restrictions, this will be a small service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider donations to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, you can send a check to the Oregon Chapter at 2050 Beavercreek Rd. STE 101-453, Oregon City, OR 97045 with a note saying it is in honor of Jayden Kibbee, and you would like the gift to go toward the Oregon Chapter. Or you could make a donation to the Oregon Humane Society in honor of Jayden and his love of animals. The OHS has a portal on their website to donate with an option to include a tribute to Jayden, or you can call them at 503-802-6793. We will never know why Jayden’s life ended as short as it did, but we will try and remember all the good that came out of it, and the memories he leaves us with. “Your life was a blessing, and your memory a treasure, you are loved beyond words and missed beyond measure.” To watch the livestream of Jayden's service, click "Tribute Links" above the obituary, and then "Jayden's Service Webcast." For help accessing link to the webcast, please call (503) 659-1184